Dubai: A manager has been accused of luring a woman jobseeker to his office for a phoney job interview before groping her repeatedly.
The 22-year-old Filipina jobseeker was said to have been looking for a job and called up the 40-year-old Pakistani manager after she came across an online advertisement.
The manager offered to pick her up from in front of a Dubai Metro station, according to records, and he drove towards what he had claimed was a familiarisation visit and job interview at his office in June.
The woman’s ordeal started during the car journey itself when the manager twice reached out to touch her arms. On reaching the office at Business Bay, the manager showed his true intent as he grabbed the woman and forcibly hugged her. Then he groped her repeatedly and she felt afraid of shouting at him as she was concerned he could harm her, records said.
The woman tried to play it safe and asked the man to stop so she could go to the bathroom before running out of the office and informing her brother about her ordeal on WhatsApp.
The Filipina and her brother reported the matter to the police and the manager was apprehended shortly after the incident.
Prosecutors accused the suspect of groping the woman.
The suspect failed to appear before the Dubai Court of First Instance where he was scheduled to enter his plea on Sunday.
The woman testified to prosecutors that she got in touch with the suspect after finding his contact details posted in an online job advertisement.
“He called me around 11am and said he wanted to interview me for the job. I met him and he picked me up. When we entered the office, he instantly groped me; he touched my waist and then my posterior. He also asked me if I was married or have a boyfriend, he hugged me and groped me. I was too scared to react, then I asked him if I could use the bathroom and fled,” she told prosecutors.
The presiding judge adjourned the case until the suspect is legally notified about the next hearing on October 18.
